Baptism Advice

[macca1110]

Does anybody know if my ex husband , who still has contact with our 7 year old son , could get him baptised (catholic) without my permission ?

[Lil O'lady]

A similar thing happened in my family generations back - one granny simply took an infant round to the Priest and had it done there and then! So the dad went to the methodist minister and did the same! But things were different in those days.
I think Macca that this will come down to an individual priest's discretion. As a matter of philosophy I don't think a priest would refuse to baptise an individual, but it may be that with an older child he will expect (or the diocese may have regulations) that the child is involved in some pre-baptism talks to establish his own outlook and to explain what this means spiritually.
There has been a surge in later-child baptisms to get children into faith schools: if this is behind your ex's purpose then look to whether this is a benefit or a hindrance to the lad in the future. Knowing what I know now, I would have done this for my (now adult) children.

[caron musson]

I was lucky I got all 3 of my children in a catholic school without being baptised ( they have been christened )
All my children have flourised from being in the school .
I did have to go for a interview though with my hubby to see if we were suitable !

[Lil O'lady]

If Macca's query centres around eligibilty for entering the child into a faith school, it's worth bearing in mind that local entrance requirements cn vary enormously over time and according to local circumstances. Once I was a governor at a catholic school that was then (over 20 years ago) mostly Asian muslim - clearly the faith requirement was waived in the desire to keep the school viable and drawing from the local families. In contrast a catholic diocese may instruct that their schools accept catholics only.
But we don't know if macca's dilemma centres on school entry or perhaps - hopefully not - some form of hatred being played out in which the child is the pawn.
eg My granny had my cousin baptised catholic mainly cos she hated her son in law, very little to do with soul-saving.

[bigmumma]

dont know for certain but the catholic church normally likes you to attend services for about 6 weeks with the child before the baptism, i think

[macca1110]

hello so sorry about delay , my son already attends a catholic school but I have decided to let my children decide their faith when they are old enough to understand and fully believe its the right choice for them . However I do believe my ex MIL is pushing for him to be done now and my ex always does as mummy tells ..

thank you for replies